Bio-based Wrinkled Surfaces Harnessed from Biological Design Principles of Wood and Peroxidase Activity

Abstract

A new and simple approach for surface wrinkling inspired by polymer assemblies in wood fibers is introduced. A hard skin is synthesized on a linear polysaccharide support that resembles the structural units of the cell wall. This skin, a wood mimetic layer, is produced through immersion in a solution containing phenolic precursor and subsequent surface reaction by horseradish peroxidase. A patterned surface with micron-scale wrinkles is formed upon drying and as a result of inhomogeneous shrinkage. We demonstrate that the design of the wrinkled surfaces can be controlled by the molecular structure of the phenolic precursor, temperature, and drying stress. It is noteworthy that this is a totally bio-based system involving green materials and processes.

Keywords: bio-based materials; biomimetic materials; green chemistry; horseradish peroxidase; surface wrinkling.